123 posts from May 2011

May 31, 2011

Chicago Park District Superintendent Timothy Mitchell is leaving in the latest leadership change in city government since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office.

The Park District is running the Taste of Chicago this year, and Mitchell is stepping down just as the city's biggest summer party is set to start.

Mitchell will step down in mid-June, Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said Tuesday.

“In the meantime, he still serves as superintendent of the district, and has a lot of work to do in the next several weeks,” Maxey-Faulkner said in an e-mail.

Mitchell has headed the Park District since 2004.

Mayor Richard Daley turned over the Taste to the Park District in February in an effort to save money as the budget for city festivals was trimmed by $2 million.

Appearing with Daley to announce the hand-over, Mitchell said Taste, set to run from June 24 to July 3, would be a “family-oriented celebration of food” with local music connected to four smaller music festivals incorporated into the festivities.

Maxey-Faulkner said the Taste, as well as the Park District's summer camp and series of concerts and movies in area parks, are on track to go ahead as planned.

The Emanuel administration could not immediately be reached for comment on who might succeed Mitchell.

SPRINGFIELD --- House lawmakers approved major changes to the state’s workers' compensation system late Tuesday, sending the overhaul to Gov. Pat Quinn, whose office has said he would sign off on the proposal.

The revival of the workers' compensation measure came two days after the House turned thumbs-down on the plan. Today's vote was 62-43, a turn-around from Sunday's action.

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Senate today sent to the governor ComEd’s proposal for a smart power grid that customers would help pay for in return for new technology that has the potential to help them reduce energy costs and consumption.

SPRINGFIELD --- Democrats in the Senate sent Gov. Pat Quinn a new map of the state’s congressional boundaries for the next decade, a plan which carves up suburban districts to help Chicago incumbents and threatens to overturn Republican election gains made last year.

Posted by Ray Long and Rick Pearson at 12:47 p.m.; last updated at 6:29 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois Senate today approved a major gambling expansion that includes a Chicago casino, slot machines at horse racing tracks and Chicago's two airports, and four new casinos in the suburbs and downstate.

The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who earlier this month said he supported a Chicago casino but not a major expansion. "We're not going to do that. I will never support that," Quinn said two weeks ago.

Shortly after the Senate voted 30-27 to approve the gambling measure, Quinn's office issued a statement indicating he might be more open to signing it than he's originally indicated.

"The governor has consistently said that if there is a proposal on the table that will help us raise the revenue to create jobs and invest in education, he would be open to it," said spokeswoman Annie Thompson. "While he has said that he doesn't favor a top-heavy approach (to gambling), he hasn't expanded on what that would be. At this point, he's planning to really take a close look at this legislation."

Supporters talked about the need for more revenue without raising taxes.

“In Chicago, we watch tons of buses going from Illinois to Indiana,” said Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, saying “Chicago needs a casino.” But she said she hoped that some of the money could be funneled to community-based social service organizations.

Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, said he “reluctantly” supported the proposal because he wanted to help the harness horsemen in the racing industry and agribusiness in the state.

Sen. Tony Munoz, D-Chicago, hailed Mayor Rahm Emanuel for coming out in favor of the casino package and said the legislation is needed because it will “create thousands and thousands of jobs.”

“The casino is not a quick fix… but I tell you what: It’s going to help tremendously,” Munoz said.

Earlier, the bill won approval of the Senate Executive Committee on an 8-4 vote, with three voting present. With the House having passed the bill on Memorial Day, the measure now is one vote away in the Senate from the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has criticized the proposal as too big.

While supporters hailed the legislation as a way to boost the economy and infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into government coffers, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, cited Quinn’s concerns about the size of the overall proposal and worried too many college-age students would become hooked on gambling with so many new and nearby opportunities.

Emanuel said today in Chicago that he's lobbying senators to vote for the plan.

Potentially the largest expansion of gambling since the state first authorized casinos more than 20 years ago, the measure would allow Chicago a land-based casino or one on Lake Michigan, as well as authorize slot machines behind security areas at O'Hare International and Midway airports. Slot machines also would be authorized for horse racing tracks, known as "racinos."

Four other casinos would be created — in the Lake County community of Park City, an undetermined south suburban location and in Rockford and Danville. The Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield also would be allowed to host expanded horse racing and slots.

Sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said the proposal could generate $1.5 billion in upfront licensing fees for the state to be dedicated to overdue bills. He said an additional $500 million a year could be raised for the state, dedicated to education and public works improvements.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Democratic-controlled state Senate is poised to give final approval Tuesday to a new congressional map aimed at reversing Republican gains made in last year's mid-term elections and pushing the boundaries of Chicago Democratic incumbents into the suburbs.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.